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Ken Wallentine

Law Enforcement and the Law

Ken Wallentine is the chief of the West Jordan (Utah) Police Department and former chief of law enforcement for the Utah Attorney General. He has served over four decades in public safety, is a legal expert and editor of Xiphos, a monthly national criminal procedure newsletter. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Death and serves as a use of force consultant in state and federal criminal and civil litigation across the nation.

LATEST ARTICLES
A hash match may support probable cause, but think carefully before opening cloud-stored files without a warrant
When a private actor identifies contraband and turns it over to law enforcement, the Constitution does not require officers to ignore it
Digital fingerprints can help identify known CSAM quickly, but courts remain divided on whether a hash match alone is enough
It determines whether property retains constitutional protection from warrantless searches
Reasonable suspicion is built from the whole picture, not picked apart piece by piece
Police service dog deployments live in a gray area courts continue to refine
If reasonable officers can disagree, qualified immunity likely applies
The Constitution does not require flawless police work — it requires reasonable police work
If you see something beyond its scope, ask these three questions
In violent scenes, officers have latitude to check for injured persons